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Bryan Beller: Aristocratic Riffs

Bryan Beller and his Lull Custom BBMF5 demonstrate what it takes to keep up with Guthrie Govan and Marco Minneman in their scary-good fusion trio, The Aristocrats. Bryan and his four- and five-string basses help the band tackle challenging instrumentals without losing sight of the song; think modern-day Dixie Dregs or fusiony Satch/Vai. Here, he plays “Aristoclub” (from their latest album, “Duck”) while plugged into his touring rig – a Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion preamp, GK 2001RB power amp, and two GK RBH410 speaker cabinets. In-between are a Boss OC-2 Octave, Digitech Bass Driver, Xotic Effects EP Booster, and a Demeter Opto-Compulator. Catch our interview with Bryan in the April issue. Read Now!

Bryan Beller: Aristocratic Riffs

Bryan Beller and his Lull Custom BBMF5 demonstrate what it takes to keep up with Guthrie Govan and Marco Minneman in their scary-good fusion trio, The Aristocrats. Bryan and his four- and five-string basses help the band tackle challenging instrumentals without losing sight of the song; think modern-day Dixie Dregs or fusiony Satch/Vai. Here, he plays “Aristoclub” (from their latest album, “Duck”) while plugged into his touring rig – a Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion preamp, GK 2001RB power amp, and two GK RBH410 speaker cabinets. In-between are a Boss OC-2 Octave, Digitech Bass Driver, Xotic Effects EP Booster, and a Demeter Opto-Compulator. Catch our interview with Bryan in the April issue. Read Now!

VG Approved Gear

Universal Audio Max and Del-Verb

Smart Stomps

After rolling out several “amp-in-a-box” pedals last year, Universal Audio is back with a fresh line of stompboxes to help guitarists groove. The Max Preamp/Dual Compressor gives models of famous compressors, with three compressor circuits – the classic DynaComp pedal capable of squashed, chicken-pickin’ sonorities, and two studio favorites, the LA-2A and FET 1176, which […]

by Pete Prown
Artists

Fretprints: Steve Khan

Khan-sequential Guitar

Steve Khan is an internationally acclaimed guitarist with a career spanning more than 50 years. Japan’s Jazz Life proclaimed him one of the 22 greatest jazz guitarists and Musico Pro’s Antonio Gandia praised him as “the voice of the guitar in Latin Jazz.” He has been making waves as a solo artist since 1977, collaborated […]

by Wolf Marshall
Artists

Mark Knoll

It's about Time

Despite spending three-quarters of his life as a professional musician, singing and playing blistering lead guitar in various groups, until very recently Mark Knoll hadn’t done a record full of original recordings. The reason, he says, is pretty simple. “I’m a procrastinator! I’ve wanted to do an all-original record for years. I’ve had the opportunity […]

by John Heidt
Real McCoy Custom Wah Pedals
VG Approved Gear

Real McCoy Custom Wah Pedals

Crying Out Loud!

RMC3FL Prices: $255 RMC4 Picture Prices: $235 RMC8 Guitar Eqwahlyzer Prices: $269 RMC10 Prices: $235 Info: www.realmccoycustom.com. Geoffrey Teese began modding wah pedals in 1993, and eventually earned a reputation as the “Wah Guru.” A true specialist, he painstakingly studied the electronic, structural, and tonal intricacies of various wah pedals built from the ’60s on, […]

VG Approved Gear

Valvetech Suplex

A Kinder, Gentler Plexi

Used by rock royalty, the 100-watt Marshall Model 1959 Super Lead unleashed hellacious tones. Problem was, it was ridiculously loud and lacked a master volume. Rob Pierce of Valvetech Amplifiers may have the solution. Based on the Model 1959, his four-input, all tube 50-watt Suplex head was built to produce an array of tones, from […]

VG Approved Gear

GJM Guitars Tenoroc

Designed To Rock

Road-warrior guitarists with years of gigs under their belt who later design guitars have an advantage over builders without that experience. Knowing what works in the real world of tone-sucking stages and mishaps is where the rubber meets the road. After sharing stages with guys like Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, and Mike Keneally, to name […]

Artists

The Uncanny Approach of Walter Strauss

Fingerstylist melds melodies, polyrhythms, and visceral picking on “Fabara” Walter Strauss shows his extraordinary technique with help from his Sexauer JB-16 while playing “Fabara,” a song from latest album, “For Melody, Wherever She May Find Me.” “The tune is an exploration off a melody from the balafon, a wooden xylophone played in West Africa,” he […]

Music

Eric Clapton

I Still Do and Crossroads Revisited
Still Slowhand

There’s a lot of looking back going on here. For his 23rd solo album, Eric Clapton reunites with producer Glyn Johns, who not only worked with the Rolling Stones on Sticky Fingers and engineered several albums by Led Zeppelin, but produced Slowhand in 1977 and its follow-up, Backless. And, 39 years on, it’s not surprising […]

Music

The Mike Eldred Trio

Baptist Town

The Mike Eldred Trio’s latest was recorded at Memphis’ hallowed Sun Studios, but the deep blues are straight outta the Delta. Eldred needs little introduction here. The former Fender Custom Shop manager, he’s now focused on his guitar picking and songwriting skills. This is his third CD – and it’s a big step up in […]

Artists

In Memoriam: John Teagle

Guitarist, historian, and author John Teagle passed away March 26 in New York at age 66 after battling cancer. Teagle recalled being “Born at the height of the original rock-and-roll era” in Akron, Ohio, and came of age in the late ’70s/early ’80s “Akron Sound” era, working in music shops and venues, including running sound […]

Have Guitar Will Travel

Have Guitar Will Travel – 014 Featuring Robert Berry

The new episode of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Robert Berry, renowned bassist in The Greg Kihn Band. A passionate progressive-rock guy, he worked with Steve Howe in GTR, with Carl Palmer and Keith Emerson in the ELP offshoot 3, and has performed with Ambrosia and The Tubes. His band, December People, which includes Sammy Hagar and […]

Overview of the electric room at Guitarlington guitar show, taking place this weekend in Arlington, TX.
Guitar Show Photos

Guitarlington 2016

Classic Instruments

The Guild Starfire Bass

In the mid ’60s, Guild took its knocks for making guitars that looked “inspired by” Gibson models. Fans of the brand think the sterotype is unfair, of course, and certainly, many Guilds from the era have their own intrigue. One very good example is the Starfire Bass. Guild was founded by musical-instrument importer/distributor Al Dronge […]

1983 Peavey T-20 and T-20FL Vintage guitar magazine
Classic Instruments

Peavey T-20

The Next Step

Introduced in 1982, Peavey’s T-20 was different from other basses in the Peavey lineup, the two-pickup T-40, and the single-pickup T-45. The T-40 (“Bass Space” October ’06) and its six-string sibling, the T-60, debuted as the first instruments to be made with parts carved using CNC machines, and their necks were bilaminated and pre-stressed. Their […]

VG Approved Gear

Valvetech Amplifier Company’s VAC 25

Tractable Tweed

Who says pragmatic utility and classic tones have to be mutually exclusive? Not Rob Pierce, whose Valvetech Amplifier Company deals in classic tones and enhanced flexibility. Case in point – the 25-watt VAC 25. Channel 1 is a half-powered version of a 1959 Fender Bassman; Channel 2 offers a more-modern SLO sound. The review model […]

Artists

Nick Moss – clean and tasty on “Scratch N Sniff”

Instro-rock, fully greased Get ready to have your funtime socks knocked off, ‘cuz this exclusive Nick Moss run through “Scratch N Sniff” is dangerous! A track from his latest album, “Get Your Back Into It!,” he’s doing it with his Fender Custom Shop ’53 Tele plugged into a ’57 Valco Tonemaster (in black and tan, […]

Artists

Humble Pie At the Fillmore

Frampton Reflects

By the time Humble Pie reached “breakthrough” status in the U.S. thanks to its live album, Performance – Rockin’ the Fillmore, Peter Frampton had departed and begun to beat the odds by forging a successful solo career. “When the album started selling like hotcakes, I wondered if I’d made the worst decision of my career […]

Les Paul Remembered
Artists

Les Paul Remembered

When news of the passing of Les Paul spread through the guitar community August 13, 2009, reaction was swift and heartfelt. Claimed by complications of severe pneumonia at a hospital in White Plain, New York, Paul was 94. His name is synonymous with Gibson’s early solidbody electric guitars, and for a time he was one […]

VG Approved Gear

Fender’s 70th Anniversary Esquire

One-Pickup Wonder

In the past, Fender has paid homage to its history with precise replicas of certain classics. The company’s 70th Anniversary Esquire, however, honors its debut 1950 electric guitar without being hidebound to the past. Instead, it takes the original and runs with it. The 1950 Esquire was a one-pickup wonder – a true-blue workhorse designed […]

Artists

Neal Schon

Spacesaver Sale

Eyebrows raise with news that a superstar guitar collector is preparing to sell iconic instruments. Alarms might trigger, even. But don’t dial 9-1-1 for Neal Schon. Holder of 800 instruments “…and counting,” Schon, co-founder of one of rock’s all-time biggest acts, recently discovered that his 15,000-square-foot storage facility was bursting at the seams. But his […]

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